With Brian Johnson out in Philadelphia, the Eagles are starting to reach out to potential replacements. The first on the list is Kliff Kingsbury, who interviewed for the Eagles offensive coordinator job today, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The meeting was done virtually, per Garafolo.
[RELATED: Eagles To Fire OC Brian Johnson]
After getting fired as the Cardinals head coach last offseason, Kingsbury caught on with USC for the 2023 campaign. He served as the school’s senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach, and he was tasked with coaching top prospect Caleb Williams. While the quarterback’s numbers dropped a bit from his 2022 Heisman Trophy campaign, Williams still finished this past season with 30 touchdowns vs. only five interceptions.
Most notably, Williams improved his completion percentage from 66.6 to 68.6. And while the QB ran less frequently, he found the end zone more often, scoring 11 rushing touchdowns (vs. 10 touchdowns in 2022). Williams’ performance (and perhaps Kingsbury’s tutelage) didn’t do anything to impact the prospect’s draft stock, as the QB is still expected to be among the first few picks in this year’s draft.
Kingsbury’s offensive acumen was what earned him the Cardinals job back in 2019. The team took steps forward in each of Kingsbury’s first three years at the helm, culminating in an 11-win season in 2021 (the Cardinals would go on to lose their lone playoff game). However, following a 2022 campaign that saw Arizona drop to 4-13, Kingsbury was relieved of his duties.
Following a year away from the league, the coach is now back on the NFL radar. Kingsbury earned an interview for the Bears OC job, and now he’ll be vying for the chance to replace Johnson in Philadelphia.
Following two strong seasons as the Eagles’ QBs coach, Johnson earned a promotion to offensive coordinator in 2023. The Eagles finished this past season ranked eighth in yards per game and seventh in scoring, but the team’s late-season nosedive ultimately cost the coach his job. The Eagles certainly have all the pieces needed for the next coordinator to succeed, and a creative offensive mind could help take the unit to the next level.
ick
I was going to go with Ugh…but I like yours better
I usually go “ugh”, but this felt like it deserved a little more.
Or Meh
When exactly is it that he showed talent as an offensive play caller? He ran Mike Leach’s offense as a quarterback. As a head coach, he never finished higher than 5th in the Big 12. He only got the Cardinals job because he shared an agent with Kyler Murray, and then his offense in Arizona was largely just hoping Murray would improvise something, because he never designed anything that would surprise a defense.
What source(s) do you have that Kingsbury only got the job in AZ because they share agents?
OK, I’ll bite. What’s the real reason they hired a guy coming off three straight losing seasons and never finished higher than 5th in the Big 12 in his only head coaching job at any level? The other reason people have given for his hiring is that he reminded people of Sean McVay, which doesn’t have any basis in coaching. Hiring him because he shared an agent with the QB they wanted to steer away from baseball makes more sense than that. Neither is a good reason, mind you.
I get it. His record is his record, but Kliff has been a longtime play caller. His defenses at TT were the killer. Did you know that dating back to his first OC job at Houston in 2011, a Kingsbury led offense never finished outside the top 20 in the nation in total offense and never finished outside the top 15 in passing. Thats including his time as the HC at TT. While in the NFL he had two good seasons in the middle sandwiched between his rookie year and his final year were he finished top 10 in offense. I’m not a huge PFF guy but during that time they rated his offense 2nd most unique in the NFL to Shanahan. Kylers rookie year he earned ROPOY award. The dude might not be a HC but he sure can call an offense. He’s more than proven that.
He sure didn’t do a great job of showing it his last couple of years in Arizona.
no thankyou
Due diligence by Eagles, hopefully.
Failed at Texas Tech (even with Patrick Mahomes!). Failed with the Cardinals.
Why would anyone think this guy is worth being hired as an NFL OC? He needs to go back to college and prove he has some coaching talent before he ever sniffs the NFL again.
If it’s a virtual call it’s most likely a general kicking of the tires in the proverbial exhaustive search they all like to say they do. Also remember organizations like to use these situations for general networking as well.
I would basically disregard anything done by a coach at the college level. Bud Wilkinson for example had an insane 145-29-4 record in the NCAA but lasted just two years in the NFL with the Cardinals posting a 9-20 record there.
The dude looked drained near the end of his Cardinals run. No damn way can he handle Philly fans.